Hyde loses out to Francona for Manager of the Year; Orioles add 5 players to 40-man roster

Despite leading the Orioles to a 31-game improvement, Brandon Hyde didn’t win the American League Manager of the Year award. Hyde finished second to Cleveland’s Terry Francona, who won the award for the third time.

Francona received 17 first-place votes cast by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Hyde received nine. Seattle’s Scott Servais, who finished third, received one first-place vote. Houston’s Dusty Baker received four first-place votes and finished fourth.

The Orioles finished with an 83-79 record. In 2021, they were 52-110.

Hyde was named on 25 of the 30 ballots.

Peter Schmuck of BaltimoreBaseball.com voted for Hyde, Baker and Servais.

5 players added to 40-man roster: Five players were added Tuesday to the Orioles’ 40-man roster — right-handed pitchers Grayson Rodriguez, Seth Johnson and Noah Denoyer, left-hander Drew Rom and infielder Joey Ortiz.

Rodriguez is the top pitching prospect in baseball, and had it not been for a lat injury that kept him out for three months, he would have made his major league debut in 2022. He was the Orioles’ first draft choice in 2018 and was 6-2 with a 2.18 ERA in 17 starts, 14 for Triple-A Norfolk, two for Double-A Bowie and one for High-A Aberdeen.

Rodriguez is 25-9 with a 2.47 ERA in his professional career and has allowed just 5.5 hits per nine innings and struck out nearly 13 batters per nine.

Johnson was obtained from Tampa Bay in the three-way deal that sent Trey Mancini to Houston. He had Tommy John surgery after the August 1^st trade.

The 40^th overall pick in 2019, Johnson was 1-1 with a 3.80 ERA in seven starts for High-A Bowling Green. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the 10^th-highest Oriole prospect.

Rom was picked in the fourth round in 2018. He was 8-3 with a 4.43 ERA with 144 strikeouts in 120 innings at Norfolk and Bowie. Rom is the 19^th highest-rated prospect.

Denoyer was 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 20 innings with Scottsdale in the Arizona Fall League.

Signed as an undrafted free agent, Denoyer had a combined 5-2 record with two saves and a 2.89 ERA at Bowie and High-A Aberdeen. He has an impressive strikeout/walk ratio, 99 strikeouts to 17 walks in 71 2/3 innings.

Ortiz, the Orioles’ 17^th-ranked prospect, was chosen in the fourth round in 2019. He hit .284 with 19 home runs and 85 RBIs with an .826 OPS for Norfolk and Bowie.

The 40-man roster is at 39.

Catcher Maverick Handley, infielders Cadyn Grenier and Adam Hall and outfielder Robert Neustrom are among those who are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft on December 7^th.